Nova Scotia --- Vermont

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Hello
all,

Sorry for
the delay on keeping you posted in real-time about out trip to Jessica and
Adam's wedding in Vermont. Of course that event has already occurred (July 2nd) and
we are now onto other things, but in any event here is a rundown on the entire
trip.

As we had
never been to Nova Scotia before we decided to head on up that way before the
big day.

If you
want to see a snapshot of our various stops that we made on this trip see the
Overall Trip link on the right side of this blog.

We
departed Cambridge, MD on June 23rd and proceeded north. On the way we
took a new route around New York City using the Tappan Zee Bridge instead of
using the George Washington Bridge. Much much easier. We then used
the Palisade's Highway and along the way north which provides very scenic views
of the Hudson River we stopped and had a picnic lunch at one of the
overlooks. Impressive to see New York City from this vantage point,
especially since a cold front had come through and there was virtually no
haze. You could also see hordes of
traffic on the George Washington Bridge.

Our first
stop over was New Haven, Connecticut. There we dined at Adriana's, the oldest Italian restaurants in the city, and had
their Osso Bucca pork. Fabulous! Their portions were huge so we had
leftovers for two (2) meals afterwards.

The next
day we traveled a shorter distance to Moody Wells, Maine to spent a couple of
days with an old colleague and friend of Gerry's at her beach front home there.
You expect Maine to be rocky, but this area was a complete surprise to us
in the sense that the beach is completely flat much like Hilton Head, SC or
Cape May, NJ. Along the way we stopped
off in Kennebunkport, Maine for a quick glimpse. George H.W. and Barbara weren’t there.

It was
good to see our old friend in Moody Wells and reminisce and talk of all the
things that have occurred since our last get together probably 15 years
ago. A lot happens in that time frame and so there was never a quiet
moment. We had two lovely days there with lots of excellent seafood.
Gerry indulged with her first lobster of the trip. This one had to
be the best ever that we have seen. It was a hard shell and contained a
tremendous amount of meat. Just watching her open it was entertaining for
everyone. The wait-staff couldn't believe the amount of meat that she was
able to retrieve. We were sad to leave two (2) days later and continue on
our journey.

On Saturday,
June 26th we departed to proceed to Canada, but on the way we visited Lubec,
Maine to see the West Quoddy Head Light House which is the eastern most part of
the continental United States (the first place the sun rises). We can now boast that we have seen three (3)
of the four (4) corners of the continental United States: Lubec, Maine; Key
West, Florida; and San Diego, California. Also, we went over into Canada
to see Roosevelt
Campobello International Park where Franklin D. Roosevelt's summer home is
located. A quaint large structure where the Roosevelts spent many years
with family and friends. It is preserved with all the original
furnishings just as it was in their lifetime. Gerry's Mom would enjoy
seeing this as she admires Franklin Roosevelt, and especially Eleanor Roosevelt
tremendously. Afterwards we then proceeded onto our destination for that
day which was St. John, New Brunswick, Canada.

The next
morning, as our ferry boat to Nova Scotia did not leave until 2:15 pm, we
walked all around St. John. It is very metropolitan rather large city
with a nice mix of new and old structures comprising their waterfront setting.
We visited a craft show and farmer's market held in one of the town
greens that are in St. John. There we had nice and informative
discussions with some of the vendors about Nova Scotia, their craft work and
livelihoods from water man, to artists, to gardeners. All were very
friendly and outgoing. Refreshing.

After
lunch we boarded our ferry and settled in for the two (2)+ hour voyage to
Digby, Nova Scotia. This was a large ferry that can handle tractor trailers,
tour buses, RV's, and cars in large numbers. The upper decks included indoor
and outdoor lounges. Half of the lower deck lounge looked like the inside
of a large passenger jet. We arrived at 4:30 pm and went to the Digby
Restaurant for an early supper of the famous Digby scallops. Again,
plenty of leftovers for follow-on meals along the way. Afterwards we
proceeded to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to our hotel. As it was still daylight
we walked around Yarmouth which is also on the water and got to see the Bay
Ferry Lines large catamaran ferry boat. It can hold 900 vehicles and travels
40 - 45 miles per hour. It goes from Portsmouth, Maine to Yarmouth in six
(6) hours. The next morning we also got to see it depart.
Fascinating. The Bay of Fundy
tides are also impressive.

Later we
drove the short distance to Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, another famous Nova Scotia
waterfront settlement. There we stayed in our first B&B of the trip,
the Mariner King. Good friends recommended this inn to us and even which room
to stay in and we were fortunate to achieve both. Lovely town and again
lovely people. We enjoyed our lobster lunch that was included at the Rim
restaurant down the street. While in Lunenberg we got to see the Blue
Nose II arrive back to its home berth from Halifax. This is a replica of
a sailing fishing vessel originally built in the 1930's. It is schooner
133 feet long with a crew of 22 before they take on guests. Impressive
boat to see in action. This version has everything either electrically or
hydraulically powered. Can only imagine what it was like to sail the 1933
version. Later that evening we enjoyed wine and all the leftover food
items that we had accumulated from the New Haven Italian restaurant and the
Digby Restaurant while sitting out on the adjoining rooftop balcony to our room
at the Mariner King B&B. Nice.

The next
morning at breakfast we met a number of bicyclists from the U.S. who were
touring Nova Scotia that way. Their days were broken up into about 50
mile segments by their touring company which also furnished the bikes used.
They were about our age and were all decked out in their bike gear ready
to go for the day. Driving a car is also nice.

We would
have liked to have spent more time in Nova Scotia exploring other small
villages and towns but as this was now Tuesday, June 28th and we planned on
being in Vermont for the pre-wedding activities associated with Jessica and
Adam's big day we again sadly departed for the next steps of our adventure
through Canada. Onto Frederickton, New Brunswick on the St. Johns River
to the Abbey Glen Riverfront Bed and Breakfast run by Clarine Craig. A
delightfully wonderful hostess with whom we chatted and chatted. This was
our second B&B this trip and we highly recommend you stay there if ever in
this area. Having arrived while still daylight, and after checking in
with Clarine, we walked along the riverfront park to the downtown area and
enjoyed a nice dinner and then an outdoor concert before walking back to Abbey
Glen. This Clarine is only the second
Clarine that we know. The other is
Gerry’s sister.

Next
morning after another large scrumptious Canadian breakfast (they always were
really generous) we departed for entry back into the U.S. and our next planned
stopover at Skowhegan, Maine. Again, after arrival and while still
daylight, we walked into the downtown area and enjoyed an early dinner at one
of their riverfront restaurants (gotta get those 10,000 steps in).
Discovered along the way an old bank that has been converted into a
bakery that we re-visited the next day for their breakfast sandwiches.
It's called the Bankery. Great food!

Then on
Thursday, June 30th we headed on over to Morrisville, Vermont. Lovely countryside driving as we had been
doing just about this whole trip. Lots
of trees but no moose as the road signs kept

warning us about. After checking into the Maplewood Bed &
Breakfast (our 3rd of the trip and we highly recommend this one as
well). we drove around the area to check things out and determine where we
would meet up with those participating in Jessica and Adam’s first day of
wedding events – the climb up Mt. Elmore!!!.
Later that evening we visited with Dave and Vonda (Larry’s brother), the
parents of the bride, and had dinner with them and their daughters Jessica,
Sara and Rebecca and Dan (Rebecca’s special friend).

Friday
morning, July 1st after breakfast we checked out of the Maplewood Inn and went over to
Lake Elmore to meet up with those who were going to participate in the ascent
up Mt. Elmore. This is about a 2600 ft.
climb that took us all about 2 ½ hours to achieve. We all made it. Gerry and I were the senior citizens and the
youngsters did cut us some slack and really were patient with us to navigate
all the vertical parts of the climb.
They only beat us to the top by ten (10) minutes so we all felt pretty good
about that. The decent down by a longer
less inclined route took us two (2) hours.
Afterwards we all met at the Elmore General Store for pizza and
beer. Thank you Adam and Jessica.

That
night we all convened at the Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, Vermont for their
wedding rehearsal dinner with their invited family members, friends and guests. Our daughter Shana, her husband Josh, and
their son Sabin drove in from Kansas to attend the wedding, so it was enjoyable
to spend some quality time both during the wedding events and aside over the
next few days while they were there in Vermont.
Interacting with Sabin even though it was only 1 ½ months that we
previously had seen him, boy had he changed in only that short time-span. Beginning to talk in short sentences of a few
words. Impressive for not yet 2 years
old.

As the
wedding was not until 5:00 on Saturday Shana, Josh, Sabin, Gerry and I spent
the day touring Stowe and visiting one of the local waterfalls that was
recommended we see. Nice.

Later in
the afternoon we all met up at the bridegroom’s parents home, the site of the
wedding. Lovely country setting on which
a large tent was erected for the reception. The
wedding occurred right on-time at 5:00 pm.
Weather was great albeit slightly colder than everyone was anticipating
for July 2nd (67 degrees). Fortunately
the groom’s family had plenty of shawls and blankets for everyone to use if
desired. A beautiful outdoor chapel
setting had been created by Adam for his and Jessica’s vows. He had even milled the large planks that we
all sat on for the ceremony. No small
feat to accomodate the 50 or 60 people attending.

Afterwards
and the traditional picture taking session that followed, we all sat down for
their wedding reception dinner. Very
tasty.

Later
that evening around 9:00 pm the first of many July 4th fireworks
displays that we would witness on this trip were set off by some of the
grooms-men. Pretty impressive for a
private showing.

I don’t know where they
got them, but just as nice as those you see at any regular July 4th
fireworks display in America. Sabin was
a little disturbed with them as he had never seen or heard fireworks
before. Afterwards we all sat around a
huge campfire that Adam had lit for everyone to sit and talk around.

Then back
to the hotel for a second night of rest after the big climb.

Sunday
morning the groom’s family invited us all to a brunch for further interaction
with the families. Afterwards, we all
went across the road to a neighbor’s house to either zip-line, or watch
zip-liners zip down and plunge into the lake that the zip-line was stretched
across. It would have been nice to try,
but as my younger brother said: his 21 year old mind said it was okay, but his
61 year old body said don’t do it. He
didn’t. I didn’t either. Our wives agreed.

Later we
went back to Lake Elmore State Park and helped Shana, Josh and Sabin set up
their campsite where they would stay for the next two (2) nights of their stay
in Vermont. Then we had a camp-fire dinner with them that Shana and Gerry whipped
up. Reminded me of my Boy Scout days and
how good an outdoor meal is after a long day.
Relaxing and delicious.

Monday,
July 4th Shana, Josh, Sabin, Gerry and I went to another waterfall
which was not as difficult to get to as the one the day before. Even so, it was much more impressive to
see. It fell from a pretty good height
and over eons of time has eroded the rocks nicely. Sabin liked playing in the creek below.

Then we
drove into Stowe for their annual July 4th parade that had a huge
number of participants. This parade in
its fourth year rivaled any we have seen in recent years for such a small town as
Stowe. Sabin achieved another milestone
by seeing his second parade with us. His
first was last fall at the Nashville, Indiana Christmas Parade. I think this one was more enjoyable for him in
that the weather was nice and warm this day, and mostly all the participants in
this parade were throwing candy to all the crowd lining the street. He liked that.

Then we
went to the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory located close by. Yummy.
Great way to end our afternoon in the wilderness.

Later, we had dinner at the Pie Casso pizza restaurant
in Stowe. Interesting pizzas. Good.

Then we
all travelled back to Shana, Josh and Sabin’s campsite and walked around the Lake
Elmore beach and later toasted marsh mellows and had Some Mores. Finger licking good.

As
it was getting dark we said our goodbyes to Shana, Josh and Sabin so they could
settle in for the evening. We all didn’t
want to part.

On
our way back to Stowe we saw off in the distance a couple of town’s worth of
July 4th fireworks.

The
next day July 5th we departed Stowe for our return to Cambridge. Along
the way this day we saw some more July 4th fireworks in that it had
rained on the eastern shore the day before and these town had postponed
theirs. We saw more fireworks this year
than we had ever seen.

Well
that’s the recap of our travels to Jessica and Adam’s wedding. It was a delightful event and a great visit
with everyone especially Shana, Josh, and Sabin.